The first rule was simple: don’t get involved.

You repeated it to yourself more times than you could count — like a necessary mantra to stay focused, to not forget who he was and, more importantly, what you were there to do.

Robert Fischer wasn’t just a target. He was the center of everything. The mind you needed to invade. The heir to an empire built on control, power… and emotional gaps your team intended to exploit.

And you are the key piece.

The first contact happens exactly as it should. A casual meeting. A controlled environment. Everything calculated. He arrives a few minutes late.

“Sorry,” he says, his voice low but steady. “Too many meetings…”

You offer a small smile, measured just right.

“I imagine being you comes with that kind of problem.”

Robert studies you for a second longer than usual, as if trying to figure you out.

“And who exactly am I?” he asks.

Dangerous.

You tilt your head slightly, keeping your tone light.

“Someone important enough that they can’t just disappear.”

A silence settles in — not uncomfortable, but heavy.

He looks away for a moment, running a hand over the back of his neck.

“Sometimes I think it would be easier if I could.”

That wasn’t in the script.

You feel it.

And that’s when everything starts to slip out of control.

The following meetings happen more naturally than they should. Conversations that were meant to be strategic begin to stretch. Planned questions give way to real answers.

And Robert… starts to trust you.

“Have you ever had the feeling that… something’s wrong?” he says one night, his voice quieter than usual. “Like everything is… out of place.”

Your heart stumbles for a second. You know exactly why. But you can’t say it.

“Everyone feels that way sometimes,” you reply carefully.

He shakes his head, frustrated. “No. It’s not that.” He looks at you, intense. “It’s like… my decisions aren’t entirely mine.”

Silence.

You move a little closer, keeping your expression neutral, even with everything inside you screaming.

“And does that scare you?” you ask.

Robert lets out a short, humorless laugh.

“It scares me enough to start questioning who I really am.”

And for the first time since the mission began… you hesitate.

Because the more time you spend around him — inside and outside the dreams — the harder it becomes to separate what’s an act from what’s real.